Spalding Flower Parade returns with millions of tulips on show

Crowds have turned out to watch the return of a famous flower parade after a 10-year absence.

The annual Spalding Flower Parade began in 1959, but was abandoned after the 2013 event due to costs.

The parade through the town on Saturday featured a colourful array of floats covered with millions of tulip bulbs, and restored by an army of volunteers.

The event, which made its way through the town centre, was paid for by crowdfunding, which raised £78,000.

The parade was revived by Stephen Timewell after he made a tongue-in-cheek comment about "bringing the parade back" when people complained that "nothing ever happens in Spalding".

The event has been brought into the modern era, Mr Timewell said, with the inclusion of Star Wars storm troopers and "even a mobile nightclub for the youngsters".

Many of the original floats, which were used in the parade in the 1970s and 1980s, have been restored by a team of volunteers after being found in council yards, garden centres and in fields covered in brambles - one with "a tree growing through it".

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